Tonneau lamp



Deco H 1923., L WS QZQ N. L. SNORF TONNEAU LAMP Filed May 6, 1922 Patented Dec: 11, 192 3.

UNITED STAES' EN OF IQ fNEW'ION L. SNORF, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 FDMUNDS & JONES COR- PORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK. 1

/ l rennin Lr.

Application filed May 6,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NEWTON L. SNORF, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,

have invented certain new and useful Im provements in a Tonneau Lamp; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use same.

My invention relates to electric lampsand means for switching them into and out of circuit, and in some of its general objects aims to provide a simple, handsome and conveniently arranged construction for this purose.

p .In one of its general aspects, my invention relates to the class of incandescent lamp the disconnecting this socketshell to a wire terminal insulated from the shell. For this purpose, my invention aims to provide a simple and convenient arrangement-of the wire terminal, together with a simple and conveniently operated switching member and simple means for latching the switching member either in a circuit-clo'sin or circuit-opening position. More particuIarly, my invention aims to employ the customary insulating body or core of the socket also as the mounting for a wire terminal insulated from the socket shell; aims to mount a rocking lever opposite the gap between the said shell' and the 'wire terminal, aims to provide suitable stop formations on at least one of the 'members between which the said gap exists; and aims to pro vide a conveniently arranged rocking lever equipped with spring means for latchmg the lever in any desired positions.

In another aspect, my invention relates to sockets in which one terminal of the circuit is grounded to themetal shell of the socket, and

1922. Serial No. 559,042.

to arrange the parts so that the lever will automatically be held in position when the parts are assembled; and aims to provide a simple, inexpensive and conveniently arranged construction of the switching lever and of the wire terminal member which is engaged by the conducting portion of the lever 1n a certain position of the latter. Still further andalso more detailed objects will ap- Fig. 1 is a front view of a tonneau lamp embodying my invention.

'Fig. 2 1s a side view of the same, taken from the left hand side of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged central and verticalsection through the tonneau lamps of Figs. 1 and 2, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged section taken through the rocking lever and parts adjacent thereto along the axis of the rocking lever, namely along the corresponding line 4-4 in Fig. 3, and showing this rocking lever in the circuitclosing position in which its plunger bridges the gap between the shell of the socket and the corresponding wire terminal of the cir-' similar to a part of the lower portion of Fig.

3 and showing an embodiment in which the rocking lever ali'ords an electrical connection from the wire terminal to the shell of the lamp through the flange of the casing without having the tip of the plunger brid e across a gap between this terminal and t e shell of the socket.

In the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, I am showing a lamp 1 of the so called Ediswan type "having the usual lateral projections 2 on its base interlocked with bayonet slots 3 in the substantially cylindrical shell 4 of a lamp socket in the usual manner. This shell 4 extends through a correspondin perforation in -the bottom of a casing 5 whic has its main portion formed substantially into the shape of a dome so as to act as a reflector for forwardly directing the li ht from the lamp. This, dome-shaped re ector portion of-the casing is connected by an outwardly directed rim portion 6 and a for- 5 though ground to the-metal casing of the wardly directed annular rim portion 7 to a flange 8 which extends radially of the-axis 1 of the dome 5 and which flange desirably has an extension 9 at its bottom, substantially as shown in Fig. 1. I

Bearing against the rim portion 6 is the outer edge portion of a concentrating lens 10 which desirably fits snugly into the bore of the annular pprtion land which is normally held in position by a resilient wire ring 11 sprung into a groove 12 formed in the said annular portion 7 after the manner shown in Fig. 3. Thus arranged, the lamp casing comprising the par-ts 5, 6, land 8 atfords a simple mounting for the lens and for the socket which has its shell extending downwardly through the bottom of the casing. This shell is both mechanically and electrically connected to the casing by any.

, cuit is fastened by a binding screw 16, this terminal being connected in the usual man nor to one of the socket'te'rminals which engages the axial terminal of the lamp.

The other, wire 17 of the circuit is fastened by a binding screw 18 .to a wire terminal mounted on the insulator and spaced by a gap from the lower end of the socket shell. This wire terminal is desirably in the form of a ring 19 which is sleeved upon the insulator 13 at some distance from the lower end of the socket shell 4, and which ring is fastened to the insulator 13- by the same screw 18. Thus arr-an ed, the socket shell 4, al-

lamp is not directly gonnected electricall to the wire terminal 19 which is grounded to the wire 17 To connect this ring electrically to the socket shell 4:, I employ a rocking lever having one portion arranged so that it will af- ,ford the said connection in a certain position of the lever. For this purpose, I desirably provide the insulator 13 near its lower end with a longitudinal groove 20 facing the said flange extension 9 and adapted to receive an inwardly indented portion 21 of the socket shelhwhich indented pdrtion affords an outwardly open groove for receiving and guiding a spring-pressed plunger 22 forming part of the rocking lever. This rocking lever desirably includes a hollow body 23 connected by a substantially dome shaped portion to a forward stem 24 which is threaded for receiving the stem of a handle parts in constructing the rockm can readil employ a knob or han le 25 conhaving a knob 25 whereby the lever may readily be manipulated. The shank 24 of the said body portion of the lever extends through a somewhat larger aperture in the extension 9 of the flange on the casing, this extension being desirably cupped forwardly after the manner shown at 26 in Fig. i so as to conform" to the curvature of the connecting portion 2? or" the body member of the lever.

Thus arranged, the cupped portion 26 of the casing flange afiords a socket in which the body member of the'lever is rockin ly mounted, and the spring 28 interposed tween this portion 27 and! the plunger 22 continuously exerts a separational pressure a so as to press the plunger 22 firmly against the grooved portion of the socket shell and alsoto press'the shoulder portion 27 continuously against the cupped shoulder formation 26 on the flange. This cupped formation desirably ha its axis at right angles to the axis of the socket shell 4 and somewhat above the lower end of this socket shell, so that when the rockmg lgig. 3 (or a position in which the tip of the plunger 22 bridges the gap between the lower end of the socket shell and the terminal ring 19) the rocking lever will have passed the center of its travel. and the sprin 28 will have forced the plunger 22 out o the hollow body 23 to a greater distance than thisplunger extends when the rocking lever is at the center of its travel. The groove 21 also extends for some distance upwardly beyond the said axis of the shoulder formation 26, so that the rocking lever will have considerably passed its center of travel in the opposite direction when it is moved to the position shown in dotted'lines in Fig. 3. In this -latter position, it will be evident that the rocking lever is entirely out of contact with the terminal ring 19, thereby open- .in the circuit and switching the lamp off.

y employing two threadedly connected siderably arger in diameter than the rimation in the socketin shoulder portion 26, thereby improving t e appearance of the appliance and also facilitating the graspin of the lever. vWith the parts thus arranged; the parts can readily be assembled by insorting the-rocking lever (with the handle thereofleft ofi) between the flange 9 and the insulator 13 before the terminal rin 19 is attached to the insulator, as there wi 1 then be ample room for introducing these portions of the rocking lever into a position corresponding. to that of Fig. 3, after which the handle portion] carrying the knob 25 is screwed upon this projecting shank 24 of thelever. Then when the terminal ring lever is moved into the position of lever, I v y I 19 is fastened in Po ition after the mannell i that the same might be varied in many ways without departing from the s irit of my invention or from the appende claims. F or example, the handle of the rocking lever .might be made integral with the hollowed portion thereof which carries the plunger, in which case this handle may consist of a substantially cylindrical stem 29 integral with the hollowed portion 30. So also, the terminal ring may be provided at its upper edge portion with a groove disposed in substantial continuation of the groove 21 after the manner shown in connection with the ring 31 of Fig. 5, in which case the circuit closing can be effected by moving the rocking lever into a position in which the plunger is entirely out of contact with the socket shell, the electrical connection then being made from the terminal ring 31 through the rocking lever to the flange of the casing to which the socket shell is grounded. In each case it will be noted that the end of the groove affords a stop for limiting the movement of the rocking lever in one direction, and that the single spring insures a firm contacting, efl'ects a positive throw-over movement for completing the movement of the lever in the circuit-opening direction, and holds the lever in either its circuit-closing or its circuit-opening position.

l. A lamp assembly comprising a casing having a laterally projecting flange, a lampsocket extending into the casing and having a shell projecting at its rear end behind the flange and affording electrical connection to one terminal of an incandescent lamp, a circuit terminal insulated from the aforesaid terminal and disposed adjacent to the rear end of the shell, and switching means extending through the flange and movable into and out of a position in which it electrically descent lamp,

bridges the gap between the said circuit terminal and the said shell end.

2. A lamp assembly comprising an incana lamp socket equipped at its forward end for holding the base of the lam and makin the electrical connections to 1; lamp, the shell itself affording one of the said connections, the socket having an insulating body extending beyond the rear end of the shell, a wire terminal mounted on the insulatin body near but spaced from the rear shell end, a casing housing the incandescent lamp and grounded to the socket shell and having a flange projecting alongside the said shell end and wire terminal, and switchingmeans extending throu h the flange and movable from one to anot er of two positions in one of which it eectricall connects the flange with the wire terminal:

3. A lamp assembly comprising an incandescent lamp, a lamp socket equipped at its forward end for holding the base of the lamp and making the electrical connections to the lamp, the shell itself affording one of the said connections, the socket having an insulating body extending beyond the rear end of the shell, a wire terminal mounted on the insulating body near but spaced from the rear shell end, a casing housing the incandescent lamp and grounded to the socket shell and having a flange projecting alongside the said shell end and wire terminal, and switching means extending through the flange and movable from one to another of two positions in one of which it electrically connects the flange with the wire terminal, the switching means having a compressible portion disposed between the flange and the wire terminal.

4. A lamp assembly comprising an incandescent lamp, a casing housing the same and having a laterally projecting flange, a lamp socket extending into the casing and having its shell groun ed to one terminal of the lamp, the said flange having a perforation laterally opposite the outer end of the said socket shell, a circuit terminal adjacent to but spaced from the said shell end, and a switch lever extending through the said perforation and having a shoulder continuously engaging the flange ad'acent to the erforation and a compressi le portion posed between the flange and the ircuit terminal, the switch lever having one end continuously in engagement with the socket shell and being movable into and out of a position in which it also contacts with the said circuit terminal.

5. A lamp assembly as per claim 4, in

which the socket shell has a longitudinal groove for guiding one end of the switch lever.

6. A lamp assembly as per claim 4, in which the socket -shell has a longitudinal groove for guiding one end of the switch lever, and in which the circuit terminal has a groove alinin with the said groove in the socket shell an has an abutment at the end of said roove in the circuit terminal.

Signe at Chicago, Illinois, May 2nd, 1922.

NEWTON L. SNORF. 

